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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23749612">A Man Who's Pure Of Heart...</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsagiStilinski/pseuds/AsagiStilinski'>AsagiStilinski</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aged-Up Yuri Plisetsky, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Bakery, Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Police, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Alternate Universe - Werewolves Are Known, Angry Yuri Plisetsky, Anxious Katsuki Yuuri, Background Relationships, Baker Katsuki Yuuri, Baker Phichit Chulanont, Character's Name Spelled as Viktor, Character's Name Spelled as Yuri, Christophe Giacometti &amp; Victor Nikiforov Are Best Friends, Christophe Giacometti &amp; Victor Nikiforov Friendship, Detective Otabek Altin, Detective Victor Nikiforov, Detectives, Established Otabek Altin/Yuri Plisetsky, Established Relationship, Florist Yuri Plisetsky, Fluff, Full Shift Werewolves, Katsuki Yuuri Needs a Hug, M/M, Meet-Cute, Misunderstandings, Mystery, Phichit Chulanont &amp; Katsuki Yuuri Are Best Friends, Police, Police Officer Otabek Altin, Police Officer Victor Nikiforov, Protective Victor Nikiforov, Shapeshifting, Supernatural Elements, Supportive Victor Nikiforov, Victor Nikiforov Is In Love, Werewolf Katsuki Yuuri, Werewolf Phichit Chulanont, Werewolves</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 16:06:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>16,446</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23749612</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsagiStilinski/pseuds/AsagiStilinski</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The first werewolf sighting in town has finally happened and Viktor couldn't be more thrilled, as a long time fan of the supernatural he's eager to make their acquaintance, unfortunately there's also a string of small crimes being committed by a werewolf at the moment and Viktor is forced to put his career as a detective first and his love of the furry-kind second</p>
<p>Around this time, coincidentally, he meets Yuri and falls head over heels in love</p>
<p>These events may or may not be connected</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, Otabek Altin/Yuri Plisetsky, Phichit Chulanont/Christophe Giacometti</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>116</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Man Who's Pure Of Heart...</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For Talya, based on the "If you call a werewolf's name with nothing but love in your heart they'll shapeshift back to human form" lore</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I have some news for you Viktor,"</p>
<p>"Oh?"</p>
<p>"There are reports of a werewolf being spotted the last few nights, word is that the wolf has been stalking around the woods for the last week or so, seemingly aimless,"</p>
<p>"How do people know it's a werewolf and not a regular wolf?" Viktor asked curiously</p>
<p>"Well, according to rumors, someone waved a silver necklace in front of the wolf's face and repelled it,"</p>
<p>Viktor leaned back on his barstool a little, staring down thoughtfully at his drink</p>
<p>"A real werewolf huh?" he said slowly, giving an exhale, before-</p>
<p>"WOW!!! Amazing!!! That's so cool! To think, a real werewolf is right here in little Rowan City!!" he squealed with excitement, eyes practically shimmering and a massive heart-shaped smile taking over his face</p>
<p>"I knew that would be your reaction," his companion chuckled softly, sipping his wine</p>
<p>"Chris this is unbelievable!! I can't wait to meet them! I wonder if they're a girl or a boy or non-binary.... I hope they're a boy, and gay,"</p>
<p>"Hold on there Cassanova, before you let your monster-fucker dreams come true, I had to tell you this to warn you, you know that not everyone is going to be as enthusiastic about this as you are, they're going to be uneasy, and I hope you realize that as an officer it will be your duty to reassure them,"</p>
<p>Viktor's expression took a sour turn, nose wrinkling and eyes narrowing</p>
<p>"There is a very large difference, Chris, between a police officer reassuring worried citizens and someone playing into bigotry and xenophobia, wich is exactly what this is, the supernatural world has been open to us for a decade now and the incidents that come from it have been nearly entirely instances of humans committing hate crimes against supernaturals, not the other way around, and I refuse to be part of the problem by fueling people's specisim and feeding into their incorrect assumptions, coddling and cuddling their unrealistic fears by making them believe that what they're displaying is any different from the hatred that stems from racism and homophobia,"</p>
<p>"Mmm, I knew you'd react like this too," Chris chuckled</p>
<p>"I only wished to warn you, mon cher, so that you wouldn't be surprised by the onslaught of worried civilians pouring into the station any time soon,"</p>
<p>Viktor nodded slowly and thoughtfully, taking a sip of his vodka tonic</p>
<p>"Right, thank you Chris," Viktor said with a bit more seriousness</p>
<p>"I'll be sure to prepare a politically correct statement that boils down to 'stop acting like werewolves are second class citizens you speciest a-hole', but tactfully,"</p>
<p>Chris snorted, rolling his eyes</p>
<p>"You do that cheri,"</p>
<p>Viktor smiled, excitedly ordering another drink</p>
<p>He knew it may be a bit problematic himself, being so excitable over the idea of a werewolf being in town, he didn't want to risk being fetishistic, but he also couldn't help feeling like Christmas had come early</p>
<p>He had always wanted to meet a werewolf, to get to know someone with the kinds of experiences and lifestyles that the supernatural world was accustomed to, even if they just ended up being freinds- hell even if they ended up hating eachother- he still wanted to meet them, just to satisfy his own curiosity</p>
<p>He wondered what they would be like....</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~+~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Yuri woke up with a sneeze, blinking as he forced himself to sit up, groaning and putting a hand to his head</p>
<p>Dammit....</p>
<p>He must have shifted in his sleep again...</p>
<p>He was currently in his neighbor's garden- he recognized the scent of the petunias mixed with the smell of new paint that was particular to Mrs. Beautillo's house- naked as the day he was born, and covered in dirt and mud</p>
<p>Great.....</p>
<p>The sound of a dog barking caught his attention, a yelp leaving him as he jerked upwards and turned towards the street, a sheerly devastated look on his face when he locked eyes with the neighbor innocently walking his dog and now being forced to gleam a look at Yuri's public nudity</p>
<p>"S-Sorry Mr. Lodge!!" he squeaked, quickly covering himself with his hands and jumping to his feet, scurrying off as quickly as possible and shifting into his wolf form the second he was out of sight, heart racing as he hurried to his house, watching for a moment to make sure that no one was around, before sprinting up his porch and into the house through the doggy door</p>
<p>He had installed that thing to make it easier on himself when he shifted, but maybe he should take it out, atleast it would stop him from running outside and getting into messes like this when he sleep-shifted...</p>
<p>Shifting back to his human form once safely inside, he sighed loudly and trudged upstairs to take a shower</p>
<p>It was only eight in the morning but it was already a long day...</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~+~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"He was naked in your neighbor's garden?" Viktor asked slowly, an eyebrow raised as he listened to the grumbling older man on the other end of the phone</p>
<p>"Tell me something Mr. Lodge, did you even once consider that perhaps he had had a massive health issue and needed help? ..Well then perhaps next time you should consider it and offer to assist instead of calling the police,"</p>
<p>Was he irritable?</p>
<p>Yes, but he felt like it was deserved</p>
<p>After the morning he'd had he really didn't need anyone else calling the station and bothering him</p>
<p>He'd had thee people so far complain about the werewolf and he could gurantee each and every time that none of them had actually even <em>seen</em> said werewolf, making generic complaints that all boiled down to bigotry and lycanphobia, much to Viktor's growing irritation</p>
<p>Needless to say, he was ready to snap the head off of the next person who let their prejudice get the best of them and could barely stand to be at the station any longer</p>
<p>With a curt end to the phone call, he hurriedly hung up, rising to his feet in a hurry and grabbing his jacket from the back of his chair</p>
<p>"I'm going to get lunch, I'll bring you your favorite,"</p>
<p>His partner, Otabek, glanced up from his computer, eyebrows thinly raised</p>
<p>"Shouldn't I come with you?"</p>
<p>"No no, don't worry about it, I'm not even taking the squad car, it's just an off-duty run,"</p>
<p>Otabek still seemed somewhat hesitant, but ultimately nodded his agreement, clearly seeing Viktor's need to blow off a little steam</p>
<p>Hurrying out to his Cadillac, Viktor slid into the car and took off to the nearby deli, practically crawling out of his skin</p>
<p>He loved being a cop, he really did</p>
<p>Protecting people, feeling usefull, as though his life really had purpose, it was good, and most of the time he was able to get past the more frustrating parts of the job by leaning on the things that he loved about it</p>
<p>But every now and then he could hardly stand to wear the uniform, those little frustrations mounting and piling up until they weighed heavily on him</p>
<p>This was one of those things</p>
<p>The supernatural community had come out to the human world about ten years ago and the entire first year was spent with both sides hovering over the proverbial nuke button</p>
<p>The supernaturaly community had a list as long as Viktor's arm of failsafes that were in place and they were ready to trigger any number of them if the human community had been too oppositional- and there had been <em>alot</em> of opposition</p>
<p>Ultimately, Viktor was certain, what kept the humans from starting a war in the first place was that the supernatural community had all of these plans in place, not the least of wich was their own highly trained private military</p>
<p>Viktor had only been a teenager when all of it happened so he wasn't sure of how everything had gone down but there had been so much tension those first few years, several wars <em>had</em> broken out in other countries- part of what had prompted Viktor to leave his come country of Russia and move to the United States instead- and those that hadn't probably had only resisted doing so due to a combination of fearing the military response they'd seen the supernatural community take in other countries and the supernatural rights activists who had apparently popped up over night who put politicians in a tight place</p>
<p>Over the last few years the two communities had come to something of a tenuous peace with eachother, but there was still more discrimination targeting the supernatural community than Viktor had ever seen before</p>
<p>Even being a gay teenager in Russia hadn't presented him with quite this amount of hate crimes, violence, and discrimination, thus part of why he had decided to become a cop in the first place, in some- perhaps vain- effort to curb it</p>
<p>Still, no government in the past decade had managed to secure quite a good enough legal system to deal with this very new sector of people yet, the sad truth was that even in the places that had adjusted best to this, like New Zealand and Canada, still struggled to get a system in place that would properly protect supernatural folks- or properly hold them accountable when the need arose, and that made Viktor's job as a cop even harder, having to toe the legal lines, half of wich he didn't even believe in himself...</p>
<p>He wondered if the next ten years would be any better....</p>
<p>Trying to shake the stressfull thoughts from his mind, he made his way to his favorite deli, shutting the car door behind him as he climbed out of the Cadillac and headed inside</p>
<p>He was so distracted, however, that he ended up running right into someone, nearly nocking them over as he stepped into the deli</p>
<p>"Oh! Sorry!!" he said quickly, reaching out to help steady the stranger and taking a step back, a small smile on his face as the brunette in front of him stepped backwards and moved to adjust his glasses</p>
<p>"I-It's fine, really, I'm sorry, I walked right into you,"</p>
<p>"No no, I'm the one who walked into you, it's my fault,"</p>
<p>Now that Viktor was taking a good look at him, he noticed just how beautifull the stranger was</p>
<p>Fair skinned with raven black hair, the most beautifull brown eyes framed by cute square glasses and the most adorable soft pink lips...</p>
<p>There was a chance that Viktor's heart had plummeted straight into his belly</p>
<p>"It's really ok," the pretty stranger noted as he adjusted his grip on the bag of food he was carrying</p>
<p>"I wasn't watching where I was going,"</p>
<p>"Well then that makes two of us," he chuckled, holding his hand out politely</p>
<p>"I'm Viktor,"</p>
<p>"Yuri, it's nice to meet you," the brunette replied, shaking his hand</p>
<p>"Your name is Yuri?" Viktor beamed</p>
<p>"That's so neat! My cousin's name is Yuri!!"</p>
<p>"Oh really?" the brunette asked with surprise</p>
<p>"Yeah!! You don't sound Russian though,"</p>
<p>Yuri didn't really have an accent, maybe something slight compared to most Americans, but it definitely wasn't the thick Russian tone that Viktor was used to hearing from his own countrymen</p>
<p>"Nope, just Japanese,"</p>
<p>"Ooh, that's so neat!" Viktor beamed, faltering a little when he noticed Yuri pulling his hand away to adjust the bag again</p>
<p>"Ah, I'm sorry, have I been keeping you from something important?"</p>
<p>"O-Oh no no! W-Well... um.... maybe? I own the bakery across the street, I'm just picking up lunch for myself and my partner,"</p>
<p>"Your... partner?"</p>
<p>Oh no</p>
<p>Oh <em>no</em></p>
<p>The cute brunette was already spoken for, wasn't he?</p>
<p>Viktor was standing there flirting with a man who already had-</p>
<p>"M-My business partner!" Yuri squeaked quickly, his face turning red</p>
<p>"P-Phichit, my freind, and my business partner, we own the bakery together,"</p>
<p>Oh good, Viktor hadn't made a total fool of himself <strike>yet</strike></p>
<p>"Oh yes, ofcourse! What baekry is it? I didn't know there was one around here,"</p>
<p>"It's Gold Lily, there's a big cupcake on the sign?"</p>
<p>"I haven't seen it.. but I'm totally interested!! I've been looking for a good bakery, I would love to come by after I pick up my order, I'm picking up lunch for myself and my partner too so..."</p>
<p>"Business partner?" Yuri guessed</p>
<p>Oh.. right, Viktor was wearing his jacket...</p>
<p>Unzipping it, he pulled it aside, showing off his uniform a little more clearly- not to mention his badge</p>
<p>"Ish,"</p>
<p>"O-Oh... o-oh, right,"</p>
<p>Huh, Yuri seemed a bit timid about that</p>
<p>Oh well, Viktor couldn't really blame him, the police didn't exactly have the best reputation, there were alot of people who were still afraid of them, Viktor just needed to prove that he wasn't a threat, that's all</p>
<p>"Don't worry, I'm one of the good ones, I swear," he promised with a wink, wich seemed to atleast <em>somewhat</em> set Yuri's mind at ease</p>
<p>But it wasn't good enough</p>
<p>"I have a terrible tendency to get lost, you know," he noted</p>
<p>"And I don't know where your bakery is, I would hate to miss it, would you show me where it is?"</p>
<p>Yuri was quiet for a moment, his lips stretching into a slight smile</p>
<p>"Ok, how about I wait for you to get finished and you can follow me there?"</p>
<p>"Wait, really?" Viktor asked in surprise, blinking at the other</p>
<p>"You wouldn't mind? It might take me a minute,"</p>
<p>"I don't mind," Yuri confirmed, smiling shyly at the officer</p>
<p>Viktor felt his heart jump with excitement, all previous frustrations and anguish about the day were gone, all he could focus on now was whatever magnificent relationship was blossoming with Yuri</p>
<p>It was a good day</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~+~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You are <em>so</em> into him,"</p>
<p>Yuri, who was half-way through a chocolate chip cookie, turned appropriately pink and shook his head</p>
<p>"I'm... I'm not into him...."</p>
<p>"Oh yes you are! Why are you lying? He's adorable and I totally approve," Phichit promised with an adorable wink</p>
<p>Yuri just groaned a little, sinking against the counter and feeling relieved that atleast they didn't have any customers to deal with at the moment</p>
<p>Viktor had spent half an hour at the bakery and had walked out with quite a hefty order..... as well as Yuri's phone number</p>
<p>They were freinds, sorta, probably, that much Yuri could admit to</p>
<p>But he wasn't sure how he felt about Viktor potentially becoming more than that</p>
<p>He liked Viktor- <em>alot</em>, he really did</p>
<p>But he couldn't help feeling a little nervous all the same, the fact remaining that Viktor was not only a human, but a cop as well</p>
<p>He may have only been a pre-teen when the mass coming out happened, but he remembered how horrible it was, and law enforcement was often the worst of the worst about anyone who wasn't human...</p>
<p>Sure, Viktor seemed sweet, but how many times had he met a human who seemed like a dream only to find out they were a nightmare in disguise?</p>
<p>"Look... I know you're nervous, and you have every right to be... but this guy seems to really really like you, and like it or not, we live in a world now where humans know about us and sooner or later another one is bound to find out about you, you know I'll be right there beside you if this all goes south, so just try to have a liiiittle bit of faith ok? I'm not saying you should go flash your tail at him on the first date, but... atleast sniff him out? Go on a date or two, see if he's a decent person, if he isn't, just break up with him, it wouldn't be any different than dating another wolf really,"</p>
<p>Phichit had a point, sort of</p>
<p>Every species had good and bad people and it was unreasonable of Yuri to just shut the door to the possibility of someone because of their DNA, that didn't make him much better than the people who refused to date Yuri because he was a werewolf, did it?</p>
<p>"Ok," he finally reasoned, finishing off his cookie</p>
<p>"Alright, I'll call him, but if this goes badly-"</p>
<p>"Don't worry, I have a full bucket of triple chocolate ice cream at home with your name on it," Phichit promised, giving Yuri a happy and adoring hug</p>
<p>Yuri was glad to hear that, he just hoped he wouldn't need it any time soon...</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~+~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"That..... is alot of doughnuts....."</p>
<p>"I was in a good mood,"</p>
<p>Somehow, Otabek wasn't convinced that was the reason</p>
<p>Three dozen doughnuts put out for the entire department, plus a suspiciously large bag from a place called Golden Lily Bakery sat in the kitchenette, a note taped to the table in front of the doughnuts reading <em>"From Viktor with love &lt;3"</em> and a similar note on the bag reading <em>"Don't get greedy or I <strong>will</strong> hunt down the culprit -Viktor"</em></p>
<p>Viktor had never really had a sweet tooth to Otabek's knowledge, and they had been working together for about two years now, so he had a hard time figuring out what the sudden- and strangely possessive- onslaught of sweets was all about</p>
<p>...Unless.......</p>
<p>"This is about a boy, isn't it?"</p>
<p>Viktor choked on his doughnut</p>
<p>Confirmation received</p>
<p>"What would make you say that?"</p>
<p>"The fact that in the two years we've worked together I've scarcely seen you with anything sweeter than the occasional cookie and yet there's a bag in the kitchenette- literally with your name on it- full of sweets and probably costing more than my last bike payment,"</p>
<p>Otabek, in his pursuit of one of the doughnuts, had taken the liberty of lifting the bag, just out of curiosity</p>
<p>It was heavier than he had anticipated, wich couldn't be good for Viktor's health</p>
<p>"I found a <em>really</em> good bakery,"</p>
<p>There was some temptation there to respond with a flat and sarcastic "No shit" but Otabek resisted for the time being</p>
<p>"And this really good bakery wouldn't happen to be employed by an attractive single guy would it?"</p>
<p>"No," Viktor huffed indignantly, licking the powdered sugar off of his fingers</p>
<p>"...It's owned by one,"</p>
<p>Ah, even worse</p>
<p>"Did you atleast make sure he isn't straight this time before getting your hopes up?"</p>
<p>"They have coming-out-cupcakes Beka," Viktor beamed with enthusiasm</p>
<p>"I'm quite sure that neither of them are straight, but don't worry, we'll know for sure soon enough, we exchanged numbers,"</p>
<p>Otabek supposed that was alot better than the last time Viktor had set his sights on a pretty boy, who's name- nor number- he ever actually managed to get</p>
<p>"Well, I hope it works out for you,"</p>
<p>"Yeah, me too,"  Viktor with a dreamy sigh, leaning his cheek against his palm as he started working on the report that was due from that morning</p>
<p>Otabek liked Viktor, enough that he would even venture to call him a freind, and he really hoped this new pursuit of his wouldn't end up getting his heart broken</p>
<p>....</p>
<p>That, and because if it did, he'd be stuck in a patrol car with the living embodiment of pain and loneliness several hours a day for the foreseeable future....</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~+~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I'm really sorry, I had no idea the movie was going to be that sad, I thought it was just going to be some fluffy cute fantasy,"</p>
<p>"It's alright, you couldn't have known,"</p>
<p>Technically, Viktor <em>could</em> have known if he had looked at the reveiws, but Yuri couldn't blame him, he never looked at reveiws either</p>
<p>"Well next time you should choose, I don't want to make the same mistake twice,"</p>
<p>"Next time huh?" Yuri asked with a shy smile, Viktor suddenly pausing mid-step as he turned to stare down at his companion, face coated with a light blush</p>
<p>"I-If you want to ofcourse! I didn't mean to presu-"</p>
<p>"I want to," Yuri interrupted suddenly, smile growing a little more</p>
<p>"I would love to see you again Viktor,"</p>
<p>The cop released a sigh of releif, his eyes practically shimmering with excitement</p>
<p>"Oh good, I'm glad to hear that,"</p>
<p>This was possibly- <em>probably</em>- the longest date Yuri had ever been on</p>
<p>After dinner they had decided to see a movie spontaneously- wich was how they ended up at the last showing of a tragic animated fairytale- and then decided to go on a walk through the park before heading home</p>
<p>Yuri was used to dates that barely lasted through a short dinner, but he had been with Viktor for.... damn, had it really been over five hours already...?</p>
<p>And yet neither of them seemed to be tired of eachother</p>
<p>They both seemed to be equally interested in spending more time together, and that was better than any date Yuri had ever been on</p>
<p>"What kind of movie would you like to see? Hopefully not another sad one,"</p>
<p>"W-Well, actually, there's a pretty good looking horror flick coming out on Friday,"</p>
<p>"Oohh a horror fan hm? Ok, I'm certainly up for trying it, though admittedly I would prefer to see you sooner than a week from now,"</p>
<p>"So would I," Yuri admitted, biting his lip as Viktor's fingers brushed against his, slowly wrapping around and gripping Yuri's hand in a light hold</p>
<p>Yuri returned the action, his face red as he gently squeezed Viktor's hand</p>
<p>"How about tommorrow then?" Viktor suggested with excitement</p>
<p>"Tommorrow?"</p>
<p>Glancing up at the sky, Yuri took note of the moon's position, reminded quickly of just how close to the full moon they were</p>
<p>"Tommorrow sounds great, but... I can't stay out late, I have um... some work stuff in the morning on Monday, I have to be there really early,"</p>
<p>"Oh, no worries, we'll just have to be sure to go out much earlier then so we can still spend adequate time together," Viktor offered with a wink</p>
<p>"In fact, how would you feel about a lunch date Yuri?"</p>
<p>"A lunch date?" Yuri echoed, expression brightening a little</p>
<p>"A lunch date sounds great, I'd love that,"</p>
<p>That would gurantee that he wouldn't have to worry about the full moon <em>and</em> would get to spend time with Viktor</p>
<p>Yes, Yuri decided as they walked</p>
<p>A lunch date would be perfect</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~+~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"What do you think? Purple or pink?"</p>
<p>"I think you need to just choose something already before I rip your fucking head off,"</p>
<p>"Awww Yura, that isn't very nice!"</p>
<p>The blonde looked roughly as concerned as an angry Tasmanian Devil</p>
<p>"Yeah? Well in case you haven't noticed yet Viktor I'm not a very nice person," Yura spat</p>
<p>"That's not what Otabek says," Viktor hummed thoughtfully as he traced his fingers along a few purple petals</p>
<p>"Yeah well Otabek is the one person on this earth that I give a shit about besides Grandpa, so if you get on that level <em>then</em> maybe I'll be nice to you,"</p>
<p>Viktor pouted, head tilting as he leaned down to inhale the scent of the purple roses- <em>again</em></p>
<p>"Beka also says that you've become fucking insufferable lately and that just makes me even more annoyed with your existence, just choose the damn purple ones already and get out of my store!"</p>
<p>Viktor rolled his eyes, but took the demand as advice and pulled his wallet out of his pocket</p>
<p>"Fine fine, a dozen purple roses, and I have <em>not</em> become insufferable,"</p>
<p>"That's <em>definitely</em> just your opinion," Yura grumbled with annoyance as he moved out from behind the counter to get the roses</p>
<p>Viktor had been giving Yuri flowers every Saturday night for the past four months, since they had first started dating, but was starting to run out of ideas on what kind of flowers to get</p>
<p>Yura had warned him not to blow the red roses early on but he hadn't listened and had given them to Yuri the very first time he started the unspoken tradition</p>
<p>"Well I just can't help it Yura, I'm falling in love with him," Viktor said with a dreamy sigh, dramatically putting a hand against his head as he swooned</p>
<p>"I fail to believe you didn't feel this way when you and Otabek were first dating,"</p>
<p>"Are you fucking kidding me? Beka and I <em>still</em> feel this way about eachother, we just have the decency to be private about it,"</p>
<p>"Oh yeah, because last year's Christmas party seemed <em>really</em> private,"</p>
<p>Yura's eyes narrowed and he spun on his heels, aiming a small gathering of roses at the cop</p>
<p>"Another word about that shit and I'll fucking cut you with my shears! You wanna see the <em>rest</em> of that dull grey hair of your's get chopped off? Keep talking!"</p>
<p>"Dull?!" Viktor gasped, placing a hand animatedly to his chest</p>
<p>"You wound me Yura!"</p>
<p>"<em>Good</em>," Yura grumbled back, heading back behind the counter to wrap the roses nicely in papper and ribbon</p>
<p>Yura's attitude may have sucked, but he was damn good at his job, Viktor would give him that</p>
<p>"Is this any way to treat your most dear cousin?"</p>
<p>"If that supposedly 'dear' cousin is irritating as fuck then yes,"</p>
<p>Viktor rolled his eyes, leaning over the counter and propping his head up on his palm as he watched his cousin work</p>
<p>"What's with you today Yura? You seem more irritable than usual,"</p>
<p>"Nothing is 'with' me, everything is fine," Yura grumbled back as he took the cash Viktor was handing to him and shoved the flowers at his face</p>
<p>Viktor had a hard time believing that if he was being honest</p>
<p>Yura had always been a pretty easy to annoy person, but the last few months he had seemed even more so</p>
<p>Maybe it was because he had just recently moved from St. Petersberg and was still getting used to everything...</p>
<p>Sure that was nearly a year ago, but Viktor remembered what it was like to be a stranger in a strange land and how emotionally exhausting that could be</p>
<p>Maybe those first few months in the states had been largely soothed by his then new relationship with Otabek and now that the Disney magic of it had mostly worn off the anxiety and frustrations that came from the move had finally caught up to him...</p>
<p>"What are you staring at?" Yura snipped after a moment, thrusting a few coins of change into Viktor's hand and causing the cop to blink back into reality, smiling warmly at his cousin</p>
<p>"Oh nothing, sorry, I was just thinking,"</p>
<p>"Better not to do that Viktor, you wouldn't want to seriously hurt yourself,"</p>
<p>Viktor rolled his eyes, but thanked Yura anyway and took off a moment later</p>
<p>Maybe he'd ask Otabek later if he had noticed any significant differences about the blonde lately, but that would have to wait until tommorrow, Viktor had a date and he was more than eager to get to it</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~+~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"This is just horrible, why did I ever let you convince me to do this?"</p>
<p>Yuri snickered, looking up from his own project as he stared at Viktor's mildly annoyed expression and the sheer mess of a craft he was holding</p>
<p>"You aren't using enough glitter glue- or enough cotton, for that matter," Yuri explained, getting up from his chair and stepping over the dogs sleeping on the floor so that he could lean over Viktor's shoulder and grab one of the little bottle pendants to better show his boyfreind how to make the "galaxies in jars" effect they were working towards</p>
<p>"But if I add more it'll spill over..." Viktor pouted</p>
<p>"That's the point, you have to <em>really</em> stuff it in there or when it dries there are going to be gaps," Yuri explained</p>
<p>It was a pretty good date idea actually, doing crafts together</p>
<p>And it was helpfull too</p>
<p>Yuri was running a special promotion at the bakery and needed some handmade jewelry for it, he and Phichit had been spending the better part of the last three evenings together working on them but now with Viktor's help and the help of Phichit's new boyfreind they were on track to finish things tonight</p>
<p>...Atleast, they would be if Viktor could manage to actually learn how to make the necklaces</p>
<p>"Here, let me show you how much to put in,"</p>
<p>Deciding to make the most of this moment, a smirk ticked onto Viktor's face as he leaned back, suddenly wrapping an arm around Yuri's waist, pulling a squeak of surprise out of the brunette as Viktor dragged his boyfreind into his lap, hugging him and resting his chin on Yuri's shoulder as he watched</p>
<p>Yuri was an expert with his hands- evidently in more ways than one- and watching him work his fingers through the supplies as he filled up the little bottles with colored water, cotton, and glitter glue was almost hypnotic for Viktor</p>
<p>He snuggled against Yuri's shoulder, drawing a soft giggle out of the brunette as Viktor started to drop kisses alongside his neck, down his shoulder, the giggling soon turning into a string of quiet moans</p>
<p>"Viktor... my hands are a mess...."</p>
<p>"So?" Viktor hummed, one hand starting to travel gently over Yuri's thigh, moving up slowly to play with the hem of his shirt</p>
<p>"Viktor...." Yuri groaned again, his head falling back, but he wasn't protesting anymore, his mind was buzzing pleasantly already, the desire to be with his partner and just drown in him- in all of him, in every part of Viktor that he could get ahold of- was growing in intensity, and before long-</p>
<p>
  <em>Bad boys bad boys, what'cha gonna do? What'cha gonna do when they come for you?</em>
</p>
<p>Everything stopped, Yuri slowly pulling back as he stared down at Viktor with what could only be called a look of judgement on his face</p>
<p>"Please tell me that ringtone does not belong to you,"</p>
<p>With an embarrassed laugh, Viktor reluctantly reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone, clearing his throat before answering</p>
<p>"Otabek you'd better have a good reason for this call,"</p>
<p>Yuri just.... <em>stared</em> for a moment, mouth open and dead-eyed</p>
<p>He wasn't sure <em>why</em> he was surprised that Viktor's ringtone for his partner was that punny, he just <em>was</em></p>
<p>"Wait, what? No no no, go back,"</p>
<p>Within seconds, Yuri was displaced from Viktor's lap as the cop rose to his feet and started pacing through Yuri's kitchen</p>
<p>"I heard you, but are you sure? ...No, no, if she's with Leo then it's fine, I know he'll do the right thing, thank you for calling,"</p>
<p>Another moment passed, mostly in silence from Viktor's end, before he said a quick farewell and hung up the phone, a far more grim look on his face as he turned back to his boyfreind</p>
<p>"Viktor...? What's wrong? What's going on?"</p>
<p>"Nothing my darling, don't worry about it,"</p>
<p>Viktor may have thought that was comforting, but it really wasn't</p>
<p>His lips pressed into a thin line, eyes narrowing a little behind his glasses</p>
<p>"Viktor.... what's going on? I know it isn't nothing,"</p>
<p>Viktor seemed hesitant, but ultimately gave a quiet sigh, moving to slide back into the chair and pull Yuri into his lap once more, arms wrapping around Yuri's waist again</p>
<p>"There was a report that just came in of a werewolf attack,"</p>
<p>Yuri went rigid, his breath halting in his throat as he froze in Viktor's arms</p>
<p>"W-What....?"</p>
<p>"Apparently some woman just came in and said that she was attacked earlier this evening, right before Otabek and I got off of work, in this area too, unbelievably..."</p>
<p>Yuri felt sick</p>
<p>He felt like he was going to cry</p>
<p>Yes he had shifted earlier that evening before Viktor came over, to run off some steam as his anxiety had been up all day, but surely he hadn't-..?</p>
<p>"Don't worry though, I don't believe her," Viktor hummed as he rested his head on Yuri's shoulder</p>
<p>"I remember when the first werewolf sightings happened a few months ago, they seem to be very peacefull, I can't understand why they would just attack someone out of nowhere, it isn't even a full moon... the officer on the case is on the right side of the law, he's having the victim tested at the hospital, to see weather or not the attack was really committed by a wolf,"</p>
<p>"There's a test for that?"</p>
<p>"Sure, they can tell if a wound is caused by claws or teeth or if it's been caused by some sort of blade or other man-made device, most people who stage these things don't think that far through though,"</p>
<p>"You sound so sure that she's faking it.. how do you know though?"</p>
<p>"Officer's intuition," Viktor winked</p>
<p>"I suppose though that you have a point, and I'm not saying that she's for <em>sure</em> faking it, I'm just saying it's strange, we've only had reports of one werewolf in town and they've always been a very peacefull person, why would they just attack someone out of the blue like this? And on a waxing moon night, and the way the story played out... it all just sounded very strange an badly thrown together, from what I understand,"</p>
<p>"You're willing to give the werewolf the benefit of the doubt?"</p>
<p>"Well yeah, supernaturals are people just like us, I'm very pro-supernatural, aren't you?"</p>
<p>"O-Ofcourse I am!!" Yuri squeaked quickly, waving his hands emphatically</p>
<p>"I'm a very very pro-supernatural person! I just... I don't always meet people who so openly agree with me, that's all, especially people who are willing to give a supernatural person the benefit of the doubt when a human is accusing them of something,"</p>
<p>"Innocent until proven guilty applies to everyone, besides, I've unfortunately been witness to alot of bullshit these past several months in regards to our new lycan resident, so many false reports, it's like The Boy Who Cried Wolf! ..Ah... pun unintended,"</p>
<p>Yuri leaned back, staring at Viktor's expression</p>
<p>He seemed so serious...</p>
<p>Without saying a word, Yuri cupped his face and kissed him, slow and deep, earning a surprised but appreciative chuckle from his boyfreind</p>
<p>Yuri's dye-covered hands were leaving prints against Viktor's otherwise pale skin, but he couldn't be bothered to care</p>
<p>Here was someone who legitimately cared about him, someone outside of his own community that thought of Yuri as a <em>person</em> who was just as deserving of rights and compassion as anyone else</p>
<p>Maybe things would change between he and Viktor when the cop finally found out the truth, but until then....</p>
<p>Yuri refused to let his anxiety get the best of him in this instance</p>
<p>He was going to let himself have this, for however long it lasted</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~+~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was a sound....</p>
<p>Some sort of wimpering or... something...?</p>
<p>Was Makkachin hurt?</p>
<p>That thought was what ultimately woke Viktor up in the middle of the night</p>
<p>Since becoming the parent to a furbaby, Viktor had taught himself alot of things to put her interests first, and forcing himself awake at the slightest sign that she might be in pain or in need of something was one of those things</p>
<p>"Makka?" he called quietly, sitting half-way up in bed</p>
<p>He could feel a weight on his feet, that was seemingly where she was, but when he reached out next to him to grab his phone for the light- just so he could make sure she wasn't hurt- he found fur beneath his hand</p>
<p>And it wasn't the curly, bouncy texture that poodle fur had... meaning it couldn't belong to Makkachin <em>or</em> Yuri's dog...</p>
<p>Color draining from his face, he hurried to turn the bedside lamp on and looked down, shocked to find a large black dog laying in bed, apparently wimpering and kicking in his sleep</p>
<p>...Although upon closer inspection, Vitkor realized with a start that he wasn't actually looking at a dog at all</p>
<p>He was looking at a <em>wolf</em>...</p>
<p>There was a big black wolf in the bed where Yuri had been laying before, wimpering and kicking, evidently having a nightmare</p>
<p>Swallowing tightly, he reached out and gently started to shake the wolf, jumping a little when the kainine startled and tumbled out of bed, hitting the floor with a thud</p>
<p>Viktor's instincts seemed to get the better of him when he suddenly called out Yuri's name</p>
<p>He hadn't really thought about it before but... there really weren't alot of explanations for why a wolf would suddenly be laying in bed next to him getting spooned where his boyfreind had been only a few hours ago</p>
<p>"Yuri!? Are you ok!?" he called, hurrying to move to the edge of the bed and hold his hand out for the wolf</p>
<p>The animal wimpered again, seemingly curled in on himself, before staring at Viktor's outstretched hand</p>
<p>"...Yuri.....?"</p>
<p>The wolf lifted one paw, reaching forward, and Viktor watched in breathless amazement as the black fur began to recede, soft pale skin laying beneath it, the wolf's cute little toes turning into human fingers, paw turning into a hand, and as the shift took place, Viktor became more and more certain of his assumption</p>
<p>By the time it was over, Yuri sat naked on the floor in front of the bed, his face as red as a tomato and looking as though he were about to cry</p>
<p>But Viktor didn't care</p>
<p>He was just relieved to see that Yuri was ok, springing forward suddenly and locking his arms around his boyfreind in a comforting hug</p>
<p>"Yuri!! Oh thank goodness you're alright, I was worried," he breathed with releif</p>
<p>Yuri seemed to be stunned for a moment, not even sure how to react, before slowly relaxing into Viktor's hold and wrapping his arms around his lover in return, eyes squeezing shut as he let out a quiet sob</p>
<p>Viktor didn't know why he was crying, but he was going to stay right there until Yuri was ok again, determined to comfort and console him in whatever manner he could</p>
<p>They could sit there until the sun came up and Viktor wouldn't mind</p>
<p>As long as Yuri was ok, that was all he cared about</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~+~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You're really a werewolf.... wow!! Amazing!!"</p>
<p>Yuri had had a feeling that Viktor would be impressed, but he really hadn't thought the reaction would be <em>that</em> good</p>
<p>He had initially been so worried about Viktor's reaction, but after the way he had behaved hat evening he started to think that perhaps things wouldn't be so bad, maybe Viktor really was an ally in all of this, and human allies were often impressed with supernatural folk on some level</p>
<p>He just hadn't anticipated Viktor being quite <em>this</em> pleased about it</p>
<p>"Um... thank you?"</p>
<p>"I have so many questions!! Ah.. but.. I wouldn't want to bother you with them or anything..."</p>
<p>Yuri smiled shyly, his face a light pink shade</p>
<p>"It's ok, you can ask anything you want, we're a couple so... it's only right that you know important things about me... I'm sorry for hiding it from you for so long but-"</p>
<p>"No, please, don't apologize," Viktor insisted quickly</p>
<p>"I perfectly understand why you felt the need to keep this to yourself and anyone who doesn't is crazy, you're trying to keep yourself and your people safe, no one can reasonably blame you for that,"</p>
<p>Yuri had grounds to argue that but he decided not to, atleast for the moment, life was far too short</p>
<p>"Well... regardless, please feel free to ask me anything you'd like," he said softly, rubbing the back of his neck</p>
<p>Viktor looked as though he had just won the lottery, his expression bright and excited as he settled more comfortably on the bed, reaching out to gently take Yuri's hand, though if that was for Yuri's comfort or his own remained to be seen</p>
<p>"How did you shift in your sleep?"</p>
<p>"I had a nightmare, it... happens sometimes... shifting is a defense mechanism, so when my anxiety levels get really high it just sort of... <em>happens</em>, no matter if I'm aware of it or not,"</p>
<p>"I'm sorry," Viktor said with a soft frown</p>
<p>"Would you like to talk about it? Your nightmare I mean?"</p>
<p>"Honestly, I don't even remember it," Yuri confessed with a shake of his head</p>
<p>Viktor nodded to that, hesitating a short moment before asking his next question</p>
<p>"Were you born a wolf or were you bitten?"</p>
<p>"I was born one,"</p>
<p>"Really? That's so neat!" Viktor beamed</p>
<p>"Have you always been able to shift then?"</p>
<p>"No, that only developed with puberty,"</p>
<p>"Awww, so there was no cute little puppy version of you?"</p>
<p>"Afraid not," Yuri chuckled back, unable to keep himself from being amused at the pout that was currently decorating Viktor's face</p>
<p>"That's too bad..." he mused, head tilting with consideration to his next question</p>
<p>"Do you like being a werewolf?"</p>
<p>Oh, Yuri really hadn't expected that one</p>
<p>"Well.... yes, I think so, I mean it has it's hardships for sure but... I guess I like being a werewolf as much as I like being bisexual, yes it's difficult because there are people out for my head and weather or not I decide to be my full self is practically a political statement, but overall... I don't think I'd rather have it any other way,"</p>
<p>Viktor seemed pleased by that answer, a warm smile on his face</p>
<p>"Does shifting hurt?"</p>
<p>"No, it's really a mind-over-matter thing, the first few times could be pretty uncomfortable just because I wasn't used to the sensations and it felt really strange to me, but I got past that before long, as soon as I got used to it it stopped bothering me,"</p>
<p>"Wow... what about on the full moon? I've heard it's different from shifting during other times of the month,"</p>
<p>"Only in that the urge to shift is much stronger, it can be uncontrollable to new or young wolves, but after dealing with that kind of urge for a couple of years you get pretty good at suppressing it, if suppressing it is something you want to do, I personally always shift on the full moon but that's just personal preference I think,"</p>
<p>Viktor nodded, completely enamored</p>
<p>"Do you have a pack?"</p>
<p>"Well... sort of? My family is my pack, they're not really very big though, by pack standards, and they're still back in Japan, here in the U.S. I really only have one werewolf freind,"</p>
<p>Phichit, although Yuri wasn't willing to say that outloud</p>
<p>If Phichit wanted to come out to Viktor then that would be his decision to make, but Yuri wasn't about to out him on his own</p>
<p>"Is that healthy? I thought werewolves really needed packs," Viktor noted with a small frown</p>
<p>"We do, but when we're abroad... it's complicated, joint-packs are a thing that happens, more and more so with the more common it becomes for people to travel and live in other countries, but I haven't found any yet that I click with, and I'm used to my mom being the only Alpha in my life, I'm not sure how I would respond to having another one,"</p>
<p>"Couldn't you just be an Alpha then? Gather your own pack?"</p>
<p>"It really doesn't work like that, werewolf hierarchy and pack structures are a pretty complicated issues that, to be honest, are complicated even for me,"</p>
<p>Viktor hummed in consideration, tilting his head</p>
<p>"Well, you'll have to promise to explain it to me some time then, though I won't ask for it tonight when I'm already asking about so much and it's so late,"</p>
<p>"I promise, I'll explain it all to you at some point when it's actually daylight," Yuri smiled</p>
<p>"It's a deal then," Viktor winked playfully</p>
<p>It must have gone on like that for atleast an hour, Viktor asking anything and everything his heart desired and Yuri doing his absolute best to answer everything, until finally, by the time the clock struck four in the morning, they were both so tired that they mostly dissolved into into mummers and mutters, falling in and out of sleep until neither of them could try to stay awake any longer</p>
<p>They slept until the alarm clock went off, and when they finally woke, they did so with lazy, tired, smiles on their faces, exchanging adoring kisses until the alarm went off again five minutes later and finally forced them both out of bed</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~+~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"In a good mood again?"</p>
<p>Otabek knew by this point that "in a good mood" just meant "spent too much time at Yuri's bakery and was convinced to buy more than originally planned by Phichit", but if that was the excuse Viktor wanted to use for bringing big boxes of doughnuts into the station, then that's what Otabek would play along with</p>
<p>"And why shouldn't I be?" Viktor hummed as he flopped down into his swerving desk chair, a doughnut in hand</p>
<p>"I have a magnificent boyfreind, a wonderfull partner, and an adorable cousin, and I was right about Mrs. Cartwright faking that werewolf attack last night,"</p>
<p>Otabek wondered if Viktor's good mood was due to something more than all of what he listed, but he wasn't a snoop so he wasn't going to bother prying</p>
<p>"About that, we got another call wile you were out, this time though, the werewolf doesn't seem to be so innocent,"</p>
<p>Viktor frowned, eyebrows pinching, but Otabek didn't let him get far enough to ask</p>
<p>"We have surveillance footage of a wolf outside Yura's flowershop, and it looks like this was too deliberate to be just some ordinary wolf,"</p>
<p>Frowning even more deeply, Viktor leaned over to peer at Otabek's laptop screen where the surveillance footage was currently displayed</p>
<p>Surely enough, there was a wolf on screen, although too blurry to make out the details of, getting into the flowers outside, nocking over planters and digging the flowers out of their places, by the time the wolf was done with his several-minute-long rampage there was certainly a massive mess in place outside of the flower shop, but it didn't seem that any serious harm had been done</p>
<p>"Who sent this in?"</p>
<p>"One of the neighboring business owners, Leroy, I think? There was concern that if a wolf was destroying one business on the strip then he'd go after others next,"</p>
<p>"I'd hardly call this <em>destroying</em>, it barely qualifies as light mischeif,"</p>
<p>"Viktor... I know you want to defend this community, but this <em>is</em> destruction of private property,"</p>
<p>"And did Yura call in to file charges?"</p>
<p>"Well... no..."</p>
<p>"Then we have no case, unless he's willing to file charges then there's nothing we can do,"</p>
<p>Otabek didn't look especially pleased by that answer, he knew that Viktor had a soft spot for supernatural people, but he was also a very fair and honest cop, and this was a bit of a stretch even for him</p>
<p>Though, he was also correct</p>
<p>As long as Yura wasn't going to file charges, there was nothing they, as police officers, could do about this</p>
<p>"When was this, by the way? What time of morning?"</p>
<p>"Just before two A.M.,"</p>
<p>Viktor's lips tensed into a tight line, his eyes narrowing as he observed the footage</p>
<p>"I see... well! I'm going to get another pastry, would you like one?"</p>
<p>Otabek shook his head and watched his partner leave, concern clearly printed against his features</p>
<p>Something strange was going on with Viktor, he just didn't quite know what it was....</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~+~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Viktor? Is something bothering you?"</p>
<p>Viktor blinked, unaware that he had zoned out wile staring at his boyfreind, and smiled sweetly, shaking his head</p>
<p>"Ah, nothing my darling, I suppose I just had alot on my mind,"</p>
<p>"Hard day?" Yuri guessed, pulling a tray of cupcakes out of the oven</p>
<p>The smell of them was already making Viktor's mouth water, he knew he couldn't actually have any until Yuri had frosted them- one of the consequences to being a volunteer taste-tester for a professional baker, having to wait for each new recipe to be <em>totally</em> completed before getting a taste- but it was certainly tempting to just steal one when Yuri had his back turned...</p>
<p>"Not really, just thinking," the cop replied simply, leaning his cheek on his palm</p>
<p>"You said that there was another werewolf in town, didn't you?" he asked suddenly</p>
<p>"Huh? Um, yeah, just one that I know of, but there could be more, it isn't really like we have 'get to know eachother' socials or anything like that,"</p>
<p>"I see..."</p>
<p>"Why do you ask?"</p>
<p>"Just curious,"</p>
<p>Knowing that there was atleast one other werewolf in town was good, it meant that he had no real reason to believe that the wolf from the flower shop was Yuri, even if things <em>did</em> line up eerily well in regards to the timing, the fact that the flower shop destruction was only an hour or so before Viktor woke up to a wolf in his bed...</p>
<p>He hadn't exactly looked to see if Yuri's paws had been dirty- for understandable reasons- but he was left wondering about it now</p>
<p>He kept trying to tell himself that it was crazy, that Yuri wouldn't have snuck out to destroy a flower display for no reason, but maybe he hadn't been in control of it, maybe he had shifted in a moment of anxiety like he said and then-</p>
<p>"Taste this,"</p>
<p>Viktor looked up, smiling at the spoon full of frosting being placed at his lips and leaning forward to take it in his mouth, moaning in delight at the taste</p>
<p>Suddenly all thoughts were gone from his head, all he could think of- or wanted to think of, for that matter- was the incredible taste of butterscotch churned into a delightfully rich but still light frosting</p>
<p>He was crazy for thinking that Yuri could ever be anything but this pure, sweet, creative soul, even in his wolf state, if Viktor gave into that kind of thinking then he was no better than the assholes who judged werewolves just for being who they were</p>
<p>And Viktor was <em>not</em> going to be that kind of person</p>
<p>So he pulled Yuri forward, covering his lips in a messy frosting-coated kiss and letting go of those crazy thoughts</p>
<p>They were just society pressuring him, nothing more</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~+~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Yuri!! Did you hear about the werewolf attack that happened last night!?"</p>
<p>"Oh Phich not you too, don't tell me you're giving in to sensationalism..."</p>
<p>"I'm not, it was on the news!"</p>
<p>Yuri turned away from the tray of muffins he had just put in the display case, eyebrows raising as he turned towards his partner</p>
<p>"The hospital confirmed it, it was on the news this morning,"</p>
<p>"I was.... preoccupied,"</p>
<p>Phichit smirked the way a cat would smirk after catching a mouse, but Yuri knew it was senseless to try to deny what Phichit was surely thinking about at the moment</p>
<p>He had told Phichit about his and Viktor's more <em>intimate</em> relationship right after it began, his freind already knew the basics of it so there was no need to try to hide it</p>
<p>"Who was attacked?" Yuri asked a second later, wanting to get back on track rather than linger on his morning exploits</p>
<p>"Oh I dunno, some guy who owns a sports shop a few streets away? He's got initials for a name, like uh.... A.J. or.. M.J. or... B.J. or something, something like that anyway, he said he was outside the shop boxing up some equipment late last night and was attacked, according to the news the hospital tested him and the scratches were made by claws, not anything man-made, and he swears he saw a wolf doing it, not some other animal,"</p>
<p>"But he got away ok?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, he just came away with a few scratches, it was actually nothing serious, apparently the wolf jumped him and then backed off really quickly and ran away,"</p>
<p>"Huh..." Yuri muttered quietly, turning back to the display case and reaching inside to exchange a couple of price cards</p>
<p>Instead of strawberry shortcake, they had raspberry elegance on display today, and rather than chocolate ganache, they had German chocolate</p>
<p>"Anyway, I bring it up because I wanted to know if you were out to anyone, I came out to Chris in the beginning but he's pretty chill, I don't think he'd do anything stupid with that info,"</p>
<p>"I'm only out to other people in the community and Viktor, and I don't think Viktor would accuse me of anything either,"</p>
<p>"Good, that's good," Phichit said with a slightly relieved sigh</p>
<p>"I just don't want anybody to make assumptions and then us get hurt in the process,"</p>
<p>"Y-Yeah, no, I agree with you," Yuri nodded quickly</p>
<p>Phichit gave his freind a fond smile, reaching out to gently pat him on the back</p>
<p>"Don't look so nervous, I'm sure everything will be fine, and your boyfreind is a cop, surely if you were in any trouble or anything, he'd tell you,"</p>
<p>"Yeah... surely," Yuri agreed quietly</p>
<p>He just wished he was as confident as Phichit that everything would be ok...</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~+~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You don't have any idea why someone would attack you Mr. Leroy?"</p>
<p>"Nope, I don't have any enemies or anything,"</p>
<p>Somehow Viktor wasn't sure that he believed that, but he wasn't going to argue with a victim</p>
<p>He was, however, going to do everything in his power to find out the truth</p>
<p>"You haven't gotten into any arguments with anyone lately? Perhaps done a bad business deal or something?"</p>
<p>"Nope,"</p>
<p>Viktor wrinkled his nose</p>
<p>Something about all of this just seemed fishy...</p>
<p>"Did you get a good look at the wolf who attacked you?" Otabek asked, changing the trajectory of the questioning</p>
<p>"No not really, it all happened pretty quickly, I was just outback boxing up some equipment and then the next thing I knew it was on me,"</p>
<p>"They," Viktor corrected quickly, earning raised eyebrows from both JJ and Otabek</p>
<p>"I'm... sorry?"</p>
<p>"<em>They</em> were on you, werewolves are still people Mr. Leroy,"</p>
<p>"...Riiiight..... well anyway, I felt the claws sink in but before I could even turn around i-... <em>they</em> were gone,"</p>
<p>Viktor's lips pursed, eyes narrowing a little as he leaned in to take a better look at the bandages currently covering JJ's back</p>
<p>"You said you felt the claws <em>sink</em> in?"</p>
<p>"Yeah...?"</p>
<p>"I thought the wounds were just grazes, that's certainly what they look like in the photos,"</p>
<p>"Viktor," Otabek warned quietly, but it didn't detour the other detective</p>
<p>"Well yeah-"</p>
<p>"But grazes could only happen in very quick and shallow motions, when would their claws have <em>sunk</em> in?"</p>
<p>"It was just a figure of speech," JJ huffed back</p>
<p>"Do you mind if we have a look inside your store?" Viktor asked with a fakely chipper smile</p>
<p>"Uumm... no? But... why...?"</p>
<p>"You never know what we might find that could be evidence, you didn't see where the wolf went after the attack right? For all you know they ran back through your store to get out through the opposite door,"</p>
<p>"Well... that's true..." JJ muttered quietly</p>
<p>"<em>Prevoskhodno</em>! Thank you for your cooperation~"</p>
<p>Viktor didn't have to look at Otabek to see that he wasn't pleased with the situation, but that was just fine, he was sure that Otabek would understand once he explained his reasoning</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~+~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Explain your reasoning,"</p>
<p>"Behind wanting to search JJ's store?"</p>
<p>"Behind all of it, look, Viktor, I know you have this... <em>attachment</em>... to werewolves that I just don't understand, but you can't let that influence you as a detective,"</p>
<p>Viktor froze, turning to Otabek with a grim expression on his face, wich Otabek honestly hadn't been expecting</p>
<p>Viktor was a serious person but he always seemed to be somewhat flippant about things that Otabek typically found himself concerned by</p>
<p>"Ootabek, this has nothing to do with some 'attachment', it's about innocent until proven guilty-"</p>
<p>"Whoever attacked JJ IS guilty-"</p>
<p>"But we still don't have adequit proof that that person was a werewolf,"</p>
<p>"Are the scratches and eye witness testomony not enough?"</p>
<p>"Not really, look, Otabek, I understand that you think I'm bending over backwards just because I like werewolves or something, but that isn't the case, the supernatural community has been persecuted for years now- needlessly so, and you know as well as I do that they're ready to burn these people at the stake just for breathing, I wouldn't put it past someone to have set this entire thing up just like they've been trying to set up reasons for us to arrest them, they don't have anyone else to defend them so I'm trying to, I know what it's like to be thought of as some abomination just because I was born a certain way and I know that you do too, no one else is protecting them so I'm going to, and if we find the culprit is a werewolf and they're truly guilty then I'll prosecute them as I would anyone else, but I'm giving themmore of a benefit of the doubt than anyone else is willing to until then because otherwise no one else will give them so much as an inch,"</p>
<p>Otabek sighed quietly, his shoulders sagging a little, he hated it when Viktor was right...</p>
<p>"Alright, fine, you have a point, but I'm keeping my head on my shoulders Viktor, I'm not going to let things get out of hand,"</p>
<p>"Ofcourse not," Viktor beamed brightly</p>
<p>"I would expect nor desire anything less,"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~+~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Can I... ask you something?"</p>
<p>Viktor glanced up from the DVD he was putting in, eyebrows raised in inivtation</p>
<p>"Sure, what is it?"</p>
<p>Yuri bit his lip, looking down and resisting the urge to fidget</p>
<p>"Well... I heard about the werewolf attack,"</p>
<p>"...Ok?"</p>
<p>"Can you... tell me about it a little?"</p>
<p>Viktor's expression fell, lips pressing into a thin line as he stepped away from the DVD player and moved to sit next to Yuri on the couch, wrapping an arm around his shoulders securely</p>
<p>"You're worried about it, aren't you?"</p>
<p>Yuri didn't have to answer for Viktor to recognize that as the case</p>
<p>"My darling, listen to me, there is not any circumstance in wich I would let any harm come to you, understand? Not one, I wish I could ive you some information that would assure you of this but unfortunately, for now, I don't know much more than what was already covered in the press, we're going to continue the investigation tommorrow and hopefully garner much better results, but for now there's just not much I can say,"</p>
<p>"I understand," Yuri promised quietly, forcing a smile as he leaned up to give Viktor a gentle kiss, earning a brighter expression from his boyfreind, who was quite pleased with himself for apparently settling Yuri's mind</p>
<p>"Thank you for promising to keep me updated,"</p>
<p>"Ofcourse, and I meant what I said Yuri, no harm will come to you as long as I'm around,"</p>
<p>Yuri thanked him again, but he didn't actually feel much better</p>
<p>There was only so much Viktor- or anyone else- could do to protect him, he knew that, he had known it for the longest time</p>
<p>He just hoped that Viktor wouldn't get himself hurt in the process of trying...</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~+~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I hate to say this, but things look pretty clean," Otabek noted with a quiet sigh as he leaned back from the shelf of sports gear he had been examining</p>
<p>He wasn't even entirely sure what they were looking for but he had promised Viktor his help, so...</p>
<p>"Mm... I'm not convinced," Viktor frowned, shutting the cash register drawer and stepping out from behind the counter</p>
<p>"Ofcourse you're not,"</p>
<p>"I still think there's evidence here of something,"</p>
<p>"'Something' being a set-up?"</p>
<p>"Not necessarily.... Otabek, do you remember when the first werewolf sighting was here in Rowan City?"</p>
<p>"'Mmm? It was about six months ago wasn't it?"</p>
<p>"About that yes," Viktor nodded, leaning back against the shelf behind him</p>
<p>"And in that six months there wasn't a single instance of aggression displayed until that flower shop thing, correct?"</p>
<p>"Correct," Otabek agreed</p>
<p>"Why is that? Think about it, there wasn't even a full moon on the nights of either incident, so why on earth would there suddenly be an attack out of nowhere? There are only two logical explanations for it,"</p>
<p>"And those would be?"</p>
<p>"First- that this is a different werewolf, someone who's much newer to the area, a high possibility but it still feels strange, the attack feels awfully random, and what's connecting those two events? Destroying a flower display and scratching up the owner of a sports store? It's possible but strange,"</p>
<p>"And the second possibility?"</p>
<p>"That JJ did something to piss off the werewolf in question, now that doesn't mean he deserved being attacked, but if we can figure out what he did then we can figure out who attacked him,"</p>
<p>"What about the flowers? That still doesn't prove a connection point,"</p>
<p>"Perhaps Yura did something to piss off the werewolf as well- just less so than JJ? Maybe they're a nearby business owner on this block, you know how Yura is, he's probably said the really wrong thing to the really wrong person,"</p>
<p>"That's possible," Otabek agreed, head tilting as Viktor stepped into the office a few feet away from the counter, immediately making himself at home in the big leather chair in front of the desk and starting to sift through the drawers</p>
<p>Otabek wondered absently if he should start looking through the computer or if he should leave Viktor to it</p>
<p>He was just starting to consider possibly heading out, making some phone calls or picking up lunch, when-</p>
<p>"I found it!! Otabek this is it!!!"</p>
<p>"What? What's it?" he frowned, moving towards his partner and peering over Viktor's shoulder at some of the files</p>
<p>"THIS!" Viktor smirked, pointing proudly at a small stack of pappers</p>
<p>"....You'll have to be a little more specific...."</p>
<p>Viktor pouted, pointing out a few lines on the top page</p>
<p>"Wait a minute... are these...-?"</p>
<p>"Yep," Viktor smirked, leaning back in the chair</p>
<p>"I think we just found our motive,"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~+~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Could you tell us what these are, Mr. Leroy?"</p>
<p>"Um..... pappers.....?"</p>
<p>Viktor rolled his eyes, resisting the very strong urge to snap at the man in the hospital bed</p>
<p>"I mean what are they <em>for</em>?"</p>
<p>"Oh.... they're print-outs of some business info,"</p>
<p>Clearly Viktor wasn't going to lead this horse to the water he wanted him to drink....</p>
<p>"Mr. Leroy, are these print-outs detailing the real estate information of local businesses that you're looking to buy?"</p>
<p>"Sorta yeah," JJ nodded</p>
<p>"I've been wanting to expand my store so I've been looking into moving or maybe even buying one of the other buildings next to the shop and just making it an expansion, it wouldn't be too hard to do that,"</p>
<p>"And have you talked to the other business owners about this?"</p>
<p>"Sure, I've talked to all of them actually,"</p>
<p>"And what were their reactions like? Was anybody particularly upset? Was anyone willing to sell?"</p>
<p>"Nah, nobodywas willing to sell," JJ replied, shaking his head with clear dissappointment</p>
<p>"Yuri was pretty upset by it too,"</p>
<p>Viktor tensed, his lips pursing</p>
<p>"Yuri was?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, he kept going on and on about family legacy and shit, anyway I wasn't gonna get into it with him but it's a real shame, that one was the one I really wanted, I kept offering him more money but he never bit,"</p>
<p>"I see..." Viktor said slowly</p>
<p>That... sounded alarmingly like his Yuri alright</p>
<p>The bakery was in fact one of the locations that JJ had tried to buy, and Viktor remembered one of the talks he'd had with  Yuri before about how important it was to him, about how his family had an onsen in Japan and that when Yuri had moved, he'd wanted to create his own little peice of the world like they had</p>
<p>It was far from unimaginable that he might feel that way, but Viktor was still incredibly reluctant to believe or even speculate that his darling Yuri could have been the cause of all this</p>
<p>Yuri wasn't a violent person, he was incredibly peacefull and soft-hearted, the idea that he could have hurt someone, especially over something like this, was just... not fathomable to Viktor</p>
<p>And yet here was supposed evidence pointing to just that...</p>
<p>"Was there anyone else who had an especially hard time with what you were asking? Was it possible that you pushed Yuri quite harshly? Backed him into a corner?"</p>
<p>"Nah, he's the only one who reacted as strongly as he did, I mean don't get me wrong, I had several people who weren't exactly happy to hear from me, I've had a few doors slammed in my face and some pretty harsh words, but... he's definitely the angriest, I guess it's possible that you could say I pushed a little hard but it was all in good business and I would've thought he'd have known that,"</p>
<p>Viktor looked grim, but he nodded all the same</p>
<p>"I see, thank you Mr. Leroy, we'll be in touch,"</p>
<p>With that, he quickly rose to his feet, nearly hurrying out of the hospital room as Otabek trailed quickly after him</p>
<p>"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" his partner asked as they walked</p>
<p>"I certainly hope not," Viktor replied bitterly</p>
<p>"It seems like him, but that can't be, Yuri isn't a werewolf, and I fail to believe he would <em>hire</em> a werewolf to do this kind of thing, or at all,"</p>
<p>Vaguely, Viktor wanted to ask how Otabek even knew Yuri, but he put it aside for the time being, his stomach churning and his jaw tense</p>
<p>He didn't want to acknowledge the possibility</p>
<p>He loved Yuri, he trusted Yuri, but was it possible that in a fit of rage, his beloved boyfreind had attacked someone...?</p>
<p>Viktor didn't want to acknowledge it as a possibility, but as Holmes once said, when you've eliminated the impossible, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truth...</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~+~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Oh, this is a nice surprise," Yuri chuckled, smiling at Viktor over his shoulder as his boyfreind practically draped himself over the brunette, snuggling into him and dragging his nose in soft little patterns against Yuri's neck, almost as though Viktor was scenting him- an incredibly pleasant thought</p>
<p>"Mmm, I just needed to be with you," Viktor sighed longingly, giving his partner a little squeeze</p>
<p>Yuri could sense something wasn't quite right, but he couldn't really place his finger on what it was...</p>
<p>"Is everything ok?"</p>
<p>"Yes, just... a tough day at work, that's all, but  I wished to ask you something Yuri,"</p>
<p>"Hm? Go ahead,"</p>
<p>Viktor fidgeted just a little, seemingly uncertain, before allowing his eyes to flicker up, staring at Yuri through the reflection in the microwave door as his partner pulled a tray of cookies out of the oven</p>
<p>"Is there... any way to.... force a werewolf to shift back to their human form? Humanely? I just-... it's a horrible thing to consider but with this attack and all, it makes me wonder if perhaps-"</p>
<p>"If you end up running into the attacker wile in wolf form, what you'll do? I guess there aren't alot of options for arresting an actual wolf outside of shooting them with a tranquilizer, wich is cruel,"</p>
<p>"Right, exactly,"</p>
<p>"Well.... you could call them by their true name, if you know it, that's really the only humane way to force someone to shift, but it only works if you love the person in question,"</p>
<p>"If... I love them?"</p>
<p>Yuri nodded, turning away from the stove and stepping out of Viktor's embrace- much to his lover's displeasure</p>
<p>"Yeah, I know it's not very helpfull considering that you're going to be using it on strangers and criminals, but it's really all there is, to call out a wolf's name with nothing but pure and genuine love in your heart... it triggers our humanity in the most primal way, other than that every other method involves torture of some kind, and believe me when I say that I don't use that word loosely,"</p>
<p>"Have you... ever experienced it?" Viktor asked quietly, hanging back a little as Yuri flittered around the kitchen, grabbing dishes here and utensils there</p>
<p>"Mm? Oh sure, my mom has used it on me alot, when wolves are really young and still just learning how to shift, getting back on their own can be hard, and at times they shift when they shouldn't out of anger or rebellion or whatever, so it's especially important for parents to be able to use it, and Phichit has used it a couple of times too, when I've shifted during anxiety attacks,"</p>
<p>"Does it.... hurt?"</p>
<p>"No not at all,it's actually almost a pleasant feeling, the sensation of so much pure love washing over you.... it's warm and inviting and <em>nice</em>... and there's something of an insurance that it can't be used for the wrong reason or by the wrong person because by definition you're doing it out of love,"</p>
<p>Viktor nodded slowly, falling rather quiet before coming up behind him again and gently wrapping his arms around Yuri again, squeezing and snuggling against his neck</p>
<p>"Viktor..? Is something wrong?"</p>
<p>"Mmm? No, no my love, I promise it's nothing, I just... I love you so much Yuri, that's all,"</p>
<p>Yuri swallowed tightly, biting his lip</p>
<p>Viktor's heart was racing</p>
<p>He was lying....</p>
<p>Yuri just wasn't sure what he was lying <em>about</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>~+~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Are you guys ever going to take care of this fucking werewolf problem?"</p>
<p>Viktor wanted to argue that it really wasn't a "werewolf problem", it was a problem with one asshole criminal who just happened to <i>be</i> a werewolf, but as he watched his cousin sweep up the broken glass from his recently busted refridgerator, he didn't really feel like arguing would be the best decision</p>
<p>"If you haven't noticed, Rowan isn't exactly a big city with a large supernatural residency, even if human law enforcement was particularly good at figuring out how to handle supernatural law-breakers, we're still a bit behind the curve compared to big places like New York and Tokyo," Viktor mused, rubbing his face miserably</p>
<p>"Well if I were you I'd try to prioritize it, I know you have some weird monster fucking kink, but-"</p>
<p>"They're not monsters and even if they were I would never fetishize them that way!" Viktor snapped suddenly, prompting Yura to slowly set his broom aside, eyebrows raised as he looked over his shoulder at his cousin</p>
<p>Viktor realized a bit too late how that may have sounded and went tense, narrowing his eyes as Yura began walking closer to him, a dustpan full of glass still in hand as the blonde glared up into Viktor's eyes, his lips pressed into a thin line and a sneer crossing over his face</p>
<p>"You know, <em>Vitya</em>, if I didn't know any better, I would say that sounded alot like something a monster-fucker would say, when trying to protect their furry little freind, good thing I know you're dating that fucking wimp Katsuki, who wouldn't have the kind of balls it takes to be a monster if they landed on his head, or else I might start getting suspicious,"</p>
<p>Viktor swallowed, though it was subtle, and contorted his own face into an irritated sneer</p>
<p>"Then I suppose it's a good thing you know very well who I'm dating, hm?"</p>
<p>He wanted so badly to defend Yuri, he wanted so badly defend his boyfreind's species and his boyfreind in general, but he worried that in doing so he might make Yura think too much on the possibility of Yuri really being a werewolf after all, if Viktor disrupted his pre-conceived images of what a werewolf needed to be and what Yuri actually was, then he risked accidentally exposing his boyfreind to someone- particularly, someone who really wouldn't have Yuri's best interests at heart</p>
<p>If there was one thing he knew with certainty about supernatural people, it was that exposing them without their permission was not only cruel, it was also extremely dangerous</p>
<p>As a gay man, Viktor understood on a level that few other humans did, though even his experiences couldn't compare to the kind of dangers that supernatural people faced</p>
<p>Being out should always be someone's choice, it should never be chosen for them</p>
<p>"Suppose so," Yura finally said, pouring the broken glass into the trash can behind Viktor before turning on his heel and heading back to the mess on the floor</p>
<p>"I'm just saying, you'd better find that wolf before I do, or I might just turn it into a pelt,"</p>
<p>"You know that <em>can</em> be taken as a threat right? It can be considered a hate crime,"</p>
<p>"And THIS would be considered <em>what</em> exactly!?" Yura shoued, gesturing wildly to his busted refridgerator</p>
<p>"I'm losing money Viktor! This asshole, whoever it is, is seriously damaging my business! Just look at this!"</p>
<p>"I know, I know... I'm sorry, but please believe me when I say that we're doing everything we can to solve this case and find the culprit, I know it's hard, but you just have to be a little patient,"</p>
<p>"I've been patient all this time Viktor," Yura said with a long sigh</p>
<p>"But my patience is wearing thin,"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~+~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Did you hear about the latest with that guy who owns the sports store? He got out of the hospital and when he went back to his store, it was totally trashed, the police are supposed to be ramping up their investigation about the entire thing,"</p>
<p>Yuri's fingers clenched a little harder around the blade in his hand, bringing it down against the bannanas on the cutting board and trying his hardest not to put too much thought into what Phichit was saying, but he knew-</p>
<p>"Has Viktor talked to you about it?"</p>
<p>And there it was</p>
<p>The question he had been trying desperately to avoid thinking about</p>
<p>It wasn't Phichit's fault though, really</p>
<p>He understood why his freind was asking, it was perfectly reasonable, considering...</p>
<p>"I don't know anything about it," he confessed with a quiet sigh, turning to look at his partner sympathetically</p>
<p>"I'm sorry Phich,"</p>
<p>"It's ok, I mean it isn't like the government knows I'm a werewolf or anything, and you trust Viktor, right? So you shouldn't worry either,"</p>
<p>Phichit said that, he was trying to help, trying to be comforting, but truthfully, they were both worried, and they <em>should</em> be worried</p>
<p>Supernatural people were always the first suspects in everything these days, and when there's proof that it actually <em>was</em> someone supernatural who committed a certain crime....</p>
<p>Everyone in the area was put under a microscope, and law enforcement very rarely cared who they pinned the crime on, as long as whoever it was loosely fit with the narrative they were building and wasn't human</p>
<p>"I trust Viktor," Yuri promised, starting to pour the bannana slices into the blender in front of him</p>
<p>He just hoped that he was making the right choice in doing so....</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~+~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>With pressure mounting from the higher ups to find the culprit who had attacked JJ and put them behind bars, Viktor decided the best option he had to ensure Yuri's safety was to follow him</p>
<p>If he could prove that Yuri <em>wasn't</em> the wolf responsible for this, then if he ever got accused of it, Viktor would have the proof necessary to defend him</p>
<p>And if, by some unbelievable twist of fate, Yuri <em>was</em> responsible......</p>
<p>Then Viktor would be able to figure out a way to get him out of it</p>
<p>Viktor wasn't a dirty cop, but he also wasn't blind to the inequalities of the legal system or those in society, and he knew that if Yuri was arrested for something like this- even if he <em>was</em> responsible- he'd never recover from the legal and social backlash that would follow</p>
<p>Aside from that, he knew Yuri, and he knew that if he did do something like this then there must have been a pretty damn good reason for it, and if there was indeed a good reason like Viktor knew there had to be, then he would help Yuri however he needed to in order to keep him safe and away from prison</p>
<p>Viktor would protect Yuri, whatever the case may be</p>
<p>"I'm going out for my run now,"</p>
<p>Viktor glanced away from the book he had barely been reading, smiling over his shoulder at Yuri as he neatly folded his clothes and set them in the little cabinet by the door, followed by removing his glasses and setting them on top of it</p>
<p>"Ah, see you soon my love," Viktor replied, setting the book aside and making his way over to his boyfreind, pulling him into a kiss, followed by a tight hug</p>
<p>"You know that I love you more than anything, don't you?" he asked softly, inhaling the soft scent of Yuri's hair, the mango and papaya shampoo really suited him...</p>
<p>"I know," Yuri replied, moving back a little, staring up at Viktor with mild concern</p>
<p>"I love you too... what's the matter? You're acting strange,"</p>
<p>"Is it really strange for me to reassert my love for you out of the blue?" Viktor laughed in response, wich seemed to set  Yuri at ease, his lips ticking up towards a smile</p>
<p>"No you're right, that's actually pretty on brand for you," he agreed, reluctantly stepping out of Viktor's embrace</p>
<p>"I'll be back soon, cuddle with Makkachin if you get too lonely," he teased, before allowing himself to shift into the beautifully sleek black wolf that Viktor had first met months ago, and running out of the house through the doggy door</p>
<p>Viktor waved at him through the window, watching him go, before quickly hurrying to grab his jacket and slide on his running shoes</p>
<p>He had gotten a special scent blocker laced into this jacket- luckily it was the old police academy one he was nearly ready to toss anyhow- so Yuri wouldn't notice him and planned to keep a healthy distance so he wouldn't worry about being followed</p>
<p>His main concern was going to be keeping up with his werewolf boyfreind, as even normal wolves had quite a large speed gap compared to humans, but werewolves....</p>
<p>Well, Yuri usually went for more of a leisurely stroll when he went running on the full moon, the super speed he saved for times of emergency, Viktor knew from past experience when Yuri had once allowed him to accompany him on a run</p>
<p>Ofcourse he had tried to purposely go slower so Viktor could keep up without tiring himself out and Viktor had struggled even then, but he hoped that if he could just keep Yuri somewhere in his line of sight rather than actually trying to keep up with him side-by-side then he'd be just fast enough for it to be enough</p>
<p>Slipping out of the house, he took sight of the familiar black tail dash around the corner towards the woods and immediately followed</p>
<p>The woods were a perfect sort of pathway between Yuri's neighborhood and the strip center that JJ's store was in</p>
<p>Running there was a bit of a distance but it was a pretty close drive, wich made it the perfect stretch of land for a werewolf to have a nice evening run</p>
<p>....</p>
<p>And a deplorable stretch of land for a human to skulk around trying to <em>follow</em> a werewolf having a nice evening run</p>
<p>By the time he was nearing the edge of the woods close to JJ's, Viktor lost sight of the little dash of black fur that he had been following all this time, and he was nearly ready to give up</p>
<p>It wasn't that Viktor was out of shape at all- quite the opposite, he <em>regularly</em> topped the charts on his fitness tests, blowing the other cops- and especially other detectives- on the force out of the water</p>
<p>But anyone who had ever tried to discretely follow a werewolf would understand that the strange mixture in keeping them in sight and yet keeping yourself far enough away to not be noticed- all wile running around in the dark without any light- and going through a few good miles of woods at that- was a near Herculian task</p>
<p>At the point that Viktor lost sight of his fur-clad boyfreind, he decided the best course of action would be to cut through to the strip center, that was clearly where Yuri was going, and if he was wrong then he would know soon enough</p>
<p>He managed to get to the parkinglot, immediately unzipping his jacket and tugging it off to give himself some releif from the heat flooding through his body at the exertion, but he didn't have more than a second to rest</p>
<p>Before he could even get a decent breath, the sound of breaking glass and an alarm going off struck him, and he turned to see something quadrepedial dash through a now re-broken window in the sports store</p>
<p>"Dammit Yuri..." he breathed, gritting his teeth</p>
<p>What were the odds that his boyfreind had been running this territory just moments ago and now there was a second wolf breaking into the same store that Yuri was suspected of having a feud with?</p>
<p>Not very good....</p>
<p>Swallowing tightly, Viktor braced himself and walked towards the sports store, his expression grim as he slipped in through the broken window and spotted the sillouette of a wolf just up ahead, evidently trying to tear down a wall display of some rafting gear</p>
<p>"Oh Yuri..." he said softly, more to himself than the wolf, and watching as the creature's head shot up, a set of peircing green eyes turning towards him, shimmering in the darkened store</p>
<p>A growl was heard, but Viktor steeled himself, Yuri clearly wasn't in his right mind at the moment, he couldn't take this personally</p>
<p>So, carefully, he sat down, exhaling and holding his hand out towards the beautifull creature</p>
<p>"It's ok," he promised softly, wondering if it would be inappropriate to click his tongue the way he did when trying to call Makkachin</p>
<p>....</p>
<p>Probably</p>
<p>"It's ok sweetheart, I'm not going to hurt you," he added a second later, forcing a smile when he saw the figure move towards him</p>
<p>"It's ok my love, my darling, my Yuri..."</p>
<p>The wolf snarled at that, flinching and swiping his paw forward, claws sinking into Viktor's arm and making him wince</p>
<p>But he refused to get upset or show any real pain, Yuri was the one hurting here, he kept reminding himself</p>
<p>Viktor needed to help him, not condemn him</p>
<p>"<em>Yuri</em>," he repeated lowly, watching the wolf shrink back against the darkness of the store</p>
<p>"Yuri my beloved, it's ok, please don't be afraid, I'm just here to help, I won't hurt you my Yuri, I swear,"</p>
<p>Slowly, carefully, the wolf inched forward, reaching a paw out again- this time far more hesitantly</p>
<p>"That's it my Yuri, that's it, you know that I love you, that I'm here to help, it's ok Yuri, I promise,"</p>
<p>The paw began to shift slowly into a hand, much to Viktor's breath-taken delight, and he watched as the pale expanses of blonde- wait a minute, <em>blonde</em>?- fur shifted into pale skin, and before Viktor could properly process what was going on-</p>
<p>"Yura...?"</p>
<p>Green eyes blinked up at him, a look of horror on his face as Yura stared into his cousin's eyes</p>
<p>"V-Viktor...? What the fuck is going on?!?!"</p>
<p>Viktor felt... <em>sick</em></p>
<p>All this time, the werewolf who had been doing this had been Yura, and he had actually been about to accuse-</p>
<p>"Viktor?! Viktor!!!!!"</p>
<p><em>Yuri</em>....</p>
<p>The detective turned, eyes wide as he saw his Yuri- his beautifull, amazing Yuri- run towards him, hurrying up to his feet and holding his arms out as they crashed into eachother, exchanging a tight, loving hug</p>
<p>"Viktor are you ok!? I smelled your blood...."</p>
<p>He paused, staring down at the marks on Viktor's arm and going pale, eyes flicking up to the detective again</p>
<p>"Vik-"</p>
<p>"Excuse me,"</p>
<p>Pausing, the couple looked down at the blonde on the ground, and the utterly furious look on his face for that matter</p>
<p>"But what the FUCK is going on here?!"</p>
<p>The sound of sirens in the distance made Viktor's heart sink, turning quickly to Yuri and swallowing</p>
<p>"Go,"</p>
<p>"W-What?"</p>
<p>"GO! They'll find you here! You... you're naked, you're clearly-... I won't let them get to you but I'll never be able to keep up so-"</p>
<p>"Oh for fuck's sake let's just go to my shop nextdoor! Hurry the fuck up!" Yura shouted, pushing himself to his feet and running towards the backdoor</p>
<p>With some reluctance, Viktor nodded, watching in releif as Yuri shifted again and bounded out after the blonde, with Viktor tailing behind them</p>
<p>They'd hide out at the flower shop until it was safe to leave, it was the only choice they had</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~+~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Wait a minute, let me make sure I have this right.... you thought that <em>I</em> was responsible for this?!"</p>
<p>Yuri was, rightfully, absolutely horrified and offended by this, watching as Viktor- also rightfully- hung his head in shame</p>
<p>"I'm so, <em>so</em> sorry Yuri, I never truly believed you could do anything like this but the evidence... it seemed to point to you!"</p>
<p>"Because I'm a werewolf?" Yuri asked pointedly, his voice sharp and the question sounding alot more like an accusation than a question</p>
<p>"Because you had something against JJ, because the timeline added up.... and... because you are a werewolf yes, but that was hardly the determining factor!!"</p>
<p>"Wait a minute, what makes you think that I have anything against JJ? I barely know the guy,"</p>
<p>"But... but he said that he wanted to buy your shop and you had a fit over it!"</p>
<p>"What? No I didn't, he asked me <em>once</em>, I told him no, and that was it, he said 'well can't blame a guy for trying' and left,"</p>
<p>Viktor frowned, clearly confused now</p>
<p>"...So then.... you didn't say anything about how the bakery meant alot to your family or..?"</p>
<p>"No..?"</p>
<p>For a second, things were quiet, before Yura, who was currently covered in a blanket that he was lucky enough to have had in the back, cleared his throat</p>
<p>"Um.... <em>I'm</em> the one who had alot against JJ and said that the store was my family's legacy.... Grandpa owns a flower shop in Russia remember? So.... when JJ kept pushing for me to sell him this place, I got really angry, I guess I got alot angrier than I thought..."</p>
<p>"So when he kept saying that <em>Yuri</em> was veryangry.... he <em>meant</em> <strong>you</strong>...."</p>
<p>With a look of true devestation on his face, Viktor slowly shook his head, eyes starting to tear up as he leaned forward and wrapped his boyfreind in a tight hug</p>
<p>"Oh god Yuri I'm so sorry!! I'm so sorry! I became exactly what I hate the most just because-"</p>
<p>"No, no no, don't apolgoize Viktor, it's ok," Yuri promised, giving him a light kiss and hugging his lover back just as tightly, though he had to be carefully not to squeeze <em>too</em> hard, what with the werewolf strength and all</p>
<p>"If you thought that I was the one with the motive <em>and</em> the capabilities, I can't really bla-"</p>
<p>"Yes you can," Viktor said seriously, looking up at Yuri firmly</p>
<p>"Yuri, yes, you can,"</p>
<p>"...Well, I <em>don't</em>, you only followed me to protect me anyway, it isn't like you were holding it against me or thought badly of me," Yuri promised, leaning down to kiss Viktor's head as his boyfreind sank in his chair</p>
<p>"Although I have to warn you, I knew you were there the entire time, you're really bad at following someone with super senses,"</p>
<p>"R-Really?" Viktor winced, turning a tad pink</p>
<p>"Really," Yuri chuckled back, leaning back against the counter behind him with a look of fondness on his face</p>
<p>"I knew you were there the entire time, I would have tried harder to shake you off my tail but I knew it was you so-"</p>
<p>"How did you know it was me!? I wore a scent-blocker!" Viktor pouted desperately</p>
<p>"Yes, wich by the way, get <em>rid</em> of that thing, it's very disorienting for me to be around, but... I heard your heartbeat, all people have a distinct heartbeat once you actually learn to recognize them, and.... I've known your's for ages now, there's no disguising that," Yuri promised with a shy smile, watching as Viktor started to squeal and plugned forward to hug him again, a muffled <em>"Yuuuuuuuriiiii!!!!!"</em> being screamed against the apron he was currently clad in, that being the only other spare covering that was in the flower shop</p>
<p>Viktor had offered his shirt but Yuri insisted that Viktor keep it on, the shop was cold on an early spring night and Yuri was quite used to walking around in the nude in front of Viktor, between the sex and the shifting</p>
<p>Yura was a different matter, but he wasn't too bothered by being naked in front of another wolf either, even a strange one, having been raised in a pack and at an onsen, casual nudity in front of others like himself just wasn't a concern</p>
<p>"As cute as this is, I think we need to start talking about the serious matters at hand here," Yuri noted, perking Viktor's attention up</p>
<p>"For starters, with <em>this</em>,"</p>
<p>Viktor's shoulders fell as Yuri lifted his arm up, examining the scratches that had, by now, stopped bleeding, but were still plenty visible to them</p>
<p>"Yura was shifted when he scratched you... you're likely to turn now, you know,"</p>
<p>Viktor nodded slowly, smiling up at Yuri adoringly</p>
<p>"That's ok, I don't mind,"</p>
<p>"You say that, but Viktor-"</p>
<p>"It's going to be ok Yuri, and I don't know why you're proposing this like some sort of argument, there isn't anything we can do about it anyway is there?"</p>
<p>"...Well.... no...."</p>
<p>"Then there you have it,"</p>
<p>Viktor seemed so... <em>ok</em> with this....</p>
<p>Yuri himself wasn't all that sure how to process that</p>
<p>"I'll be so happy to be like you, my Yuri, and to let you be my Alpha in something other than the bedroom for once,"</p>
<p>Viktor winked</p>
<p>Yuri blushed</p>
<p>Yura groaned</p>
<p>"I'd tell you both to get a room but I don't want that shit going on in my store, and the fucking cops aren't done at Leroy's yet,"</p>
<p>Viktor nodded, turning his attention back to Yura, a sympathetic look on his face</p>
<p>"Speaking of rather sudden werewolfism.... Yura, how long have you been a wolf?"</p>
<p>The blonde's expression turned more somber, his eyes downcast as he leaned back in his chair, shrugging</p>
<p>"Until now I didn't really know I was one.... I started feeling different a few months ago though, I started having blackouts sometimes, I just figured I was passing out because I was really tired but... I was fooling myself honestly... I should have known much sooner..."</p>
<p>"If you were bitten or scratched by someone and didn't have anyone around to guide you though, then you can hardly be held accountable for that," Yuri said with a frown</p>
<p>"The idea of becoming a completely different species is alot for any human to handle,"</p>
<p>"I guess so," Yura grumbled back quietly</p>
<p>"But you don't have to go through it alone anymore, I'm here to help, I'm going to help you," Yuri promised, reaching down to gently take Yura's hand and give it a squeeze</p>
<p>"Gross...." Yura sneered back, though, Yuri noticed, he didn't pull away</p>
<p>"So now that that's settled, all we have left to figure out is what we're going to do about all of this legally," Viktor noted, crossing one leg elegantly over the other</p>
<p>"Mm? Meaning what?" Yura asked, eyebrows raised</p>
<p>"He means that as long as the law is looking for a werewolf who's been going around causing destruction and hurting people, we won't be able to breathe," Yuri replied grimly</p>
<p>"Well... won't they just forget and give up eventually though? I mean if they go months with no lead-"</p>
<p>"Maybe if it was a human but we don't get that kind of luxury," Yuri interjected quickly</p>
<p>"Humans are already always looking for any excuse they can get to hunt us down, they won't be satisfied until one of us is paying the price for this, they seem to believe that old thing about sharks, that if we get a taste of human blood we'll never quit? They seem to think that once a troublesome werewolf, always a troublesome werewolf,"</p>
<p>Viktor hummed softly, leaning back and tapping his chin as a smirk crossed his face</p>
<p>"I think I might have a way to keep us all out of trouble,"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~+~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"So you don't even know who it is?"</p>
<p>"We're trying to find that out but I'm afraid that all we can confirm for now is that the body delivered to us last evening is, indeed, a werewolf, according to a witch consultant, he was likely cursed in that form, stuck, he went feral after so long of being unable to get in touch with his humanity, thus why he didn't shift back to human form after death either, but the DNA test is positive,"</p>
<p>"Then... why did he keep coming after me?" JJ asked with confusion</p>
<p>"Unfortunately without knowing who it is, we cannot answer that question,"</p>
<p>Viktor was mentally thanking Chris for all of his help</p>
<p>Wile it was in fact a deep tragedy that the zoo had lost one of their wolves a few days prior- who had passed peacefully from old age- it was also outstanding timing, as they were able to- with only minor tampering with the DNA and evidence- claim the wolf was, in fact, a werewolf, and even gave him a proper burial in a graveyard to boot</p>
<p>For those investigating, it was a normal burrial</p>
<p>For Viktor and Chris, it was a way of thanking the wolf for unknowingly saving Yura's skin</p>
<p>Viktor wasn't exactly proud of himself for having a smudge on his otherwise clean record as a cop, but he had to do what he had to do to keep Yura from being punished for something he hadn't even realized he'd been doing, and now that Yuri was guiding him, they wouldn't have to worry about things like this again anyway</p>
<p>"Well that was an uneventfull end," Viktor mused as he and Otabek left the sports shop, heading back to the squad car</p>
<p>Atleast insurance would cover JJ's repair bills, so there was no need for Viktor to try to rectify that</p>
<p>"No kidding, it was all tied up in such a nice little bow," Otabek mused, a hint of suspicion clear in his voice</p>
<p>"Mm, it was indeed," Viktor smiled back at his partner</p>
<p>Otabek didn't seem nearly so convinced, but he also clearly didn't have any evidence or even anything circumstantial to string together a different theory of events, so he would let it go, evidently</p>
<p>Atleast for now</p>
<p>Viktor was relieved for that, even though he couldn't express it at the moment</p>
<p>The last thing they needed right now was a hole in their plan after all</p>
<p>Things would go well from here, he was sure of it</p>
<p>"What happened to your arm?"</p>
<p>Blinking in surprise, Viktor had forgotten all about the nearly healed scratch marks from the night before, turning his arm over to examine them</p>
<p>"Hm? Oh, you know Yuri, he's quite the enthusiastic lover," he winked as he started the car</p>
<p>"He scratched you in a fit of passion.... on your <em>inner arm</em>?"</p>
<p>...Ah... perhaps a different excuse would have been better....</p>
<p>"Who said this was the only place?" Viktor replied with a smirk</p>
<p>"I could give you a full run down of our activities if you'd like,"</p>
<p>Otabek seemed rather put off by that and gave a simple and polite "No thank you", wich seemed to settle the matter</p>
<p>Hopefully for good...</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>Four months later...</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Otabek shivered slightly as he walked, it wasn't a particularly cold night, what with it being in the middle of summer now, but there was a chill in the air for some reason that Otabek just couldn't identify...</p>
<p>He made his way through the woods, his shoes tapping against the concrete as he walked, he could hear the familiar sounds of twigs snapping around him, and when he turned around-....</p>
<p>"Oof!"</p>
<p>Nocked to the ground, he felt the weight of a wolf on top of him, the beast's jaws only inches from his face as the creature.... started to lick his cheek enthusiastically</p>
<p>"Hello to you too Yura," he greeted with a small smile, scratching gently behind the blonde's ears as his tail wagged up a storm</p>
<p>The sound of paws against the ground had him craning his head back, looking at the trio of wolves who had descended- brown, black, and grey, all tails wagging</p>
<p>"And to you three as well,"</p>
<p>Viktor gave an enthusiastic woofing type of a sound before flopping down and headbutting Otabek affectionately, wich the human didn't even fully understand the need for- they had just seen eachother earlier that day at work</p>
<p>"I see you found the place alright,"</p>
<p>Turning to the side, looked up at the smirking blonde above him, Chris nearly laughing at the rather blank look on Otabek's face</p>
<p>"It wasn't hard," he replied simply as he sat up, gently pushing Yura down so that the wolf was now positioned far more comfortably in his lap</p>
<p>"Mm, well regardless, on behalf of being the only human in this club until now.... welcome to the pack, Otabek,"</p>
<p>Otabek smiled, just slightly, and nodded, watching as Phichit scampered over to Chris to tug him into a light chase, Viktor and Yuri practically curled around eachother like they were attached at the hips, and Yura, still looking as happy as ever that he was in Otabek's lap</p>
<p>He would admit, at first he didn't understand why Viktor and Chris had staged that fake werewolf to be "caught" by the police and framed for the assault on JJ a few months back, but now, as his wolf boyfreind- who had come out to him only a few weeks prior- snuggled up against his chest, he could safely say he completely understood</p>
<p>Otabek was a man of the law, he believed in the system, even though it was prone to a minefeild of corruption and wrong-doing, but knowing what he knew now, being invited into the beautifull world that he was now part of, he understood</p>
<p>Some things had to be protected that the law just wasn't prepared to fully defend yet</p>
<p>And until that day came, until he could be sure that the law was able to protect them, he and Viktor would just have to do it themselves</p>
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